Gov. Greg Abbott says marijuana pardons will not be happening in Texas
Meanwhile, Abbott's Democratic gubernatorial opponent Beto O'Rourke vowed to legalize...
Meanwhile, Abbott's Democratic gubernatorial opponent Beto O'Rourke vowed to legalize marijuana in the state if elected.
Ariana Garcia, ChronOct. 7, 2022Updated: Oct. 7, 2022 11:50 a.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that he does not plan on pardoning state marijuana possession charges.
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In a historic move in U.S. drug policy, President Joe Biden on Thursday pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. Despite the president urging governors to follow his lead and pardon state possession charges—which vastly outnumber those charged under federal laws— Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made it clear that such pardons will not be happening in the Lone Star State.
In a Twitter thread announcing the pardons, Biden called on governors to pardon simple state marijuana offenses. "Just as no one should be in a federal prison for possessing marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either," Biden tweeted. While officials said there are no people now serving time in federal prisons solely for marijuana possession, there are about 6,500 people who have such convictions on their records, which would be cleared, according to the New York Times.
In response to Biden's announcement, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze issued the following statement: "Texas is not in the habit of taking criminal justice advice from the leader of the defund police party and someone who has overseen a criminal justice system run amuck with cashless bail and a revolving door for violent criminals. The Governor of Texas can only pardon individuals who have been through the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles system with a recommendation for pardon."
Abbott has previously expressed interest in reducing the criminal penalty for marijuana possession to a Class C misdemeanor, but not legalizing the drug. While Biden stopped short of calling for the complete decriminalization of marijuana, he later tweeted that the federal government still needs "important limitations on trafficking, marketing and underage sales of marijuana." However, Abbott's Democratic gubernatorial opponent Beto O'Rourke seized the moment to announce that if elected, he plans to take things a step further.
"When I'm governor, we will finally legalize marijuana in Texas and expunge the records of those arrested for marijuana possession," O'Rourke tweeted Thursday following Biden's announcement. In a follow-up tweet, O'Rourke reiterated his position on the matter, sharing a clip from his recent "Vote 'Em Out" rally where Texas music icon Willie Nelson performed his song "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die."
A long proponent of legalization, O'Rourke has argued that legal marijuana would provide revenue to the state, reduce property taxes and fund important services. "Right now we spend half a billion dollars a year locking people up for a substance that is legal in most of the country, most of the rest of the developed world," O'Rourke said while in Dallas in April. "We also lose out on, conservatively speaking, half a billion dollars in tax revenue."
According to the New York Times, officials Since 2012, 19 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized marijuana for recreational use. In a recent Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll, more than half of Texans said they either support or strongly support legalizing marijuana. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed in last month said they would either support or strongly support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. Last year, the Texas Legislature approved a bill to expand the state's medical marijuana program to include all forms of post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer.
